About the Universe
e Production Cycles Throughout the years, films have come in waves. These waves first came in alongside the academic high school years, and have since shifted to fit the breaks in college semesters. Cycles also tend to show a shift in style and ability, with films produced near each other mirroring capabilities and techniques. The War Trio The first cycle, and the cinematic universe as we know it, began during the dude's sophomore year of high school, and covers a time span from October 2015 to June of 2016. It featured three films set in distinct time periods and serves as the foundations to all videos after. World War I: Trench Warfare WWI: TW was the very first video ever made by the dudes. It was made by Eric and Jack for a school project, and remains one of the most educational videos produced. This was where it all began. World War II: The European Front WWII: EF was the second film in the cycle and saw a large improvement in all areas of production value. It was the first video to take creative liberties and use large casts, wardrobes, and longer sequences. Clocking in at 11:02, it is about three times the length of its predecessor. Vietnam Sometimes referred to as "The Forgotten Video" among the dudes, Vietnam saw an unusual and chaotic creation that damaged the final value of the movie. It was one of the more serious films made, and has generally a darker tone than most films. Due to editing issues, the final version has serious quality issues and can be watched on Jack's channel. There is a version with much cleaner video (though with no audio), in Jesse's possession, however it is unavailable at this time. Despite the issues, Vietnam brought value to the franchise. It introduced the Frenchman character and focused more on individual characters as a whole. It was timed at 13:37 in the final version, which would stand as the longest video made for two years. It also holds up as the most viewed video, with 353 views at the time of this writing. The next closest video is Causes and Effects of the Revolutionary War at 339. The Junior Era The start of the Junior Era coincides with the dudes' junior year of high school. It is a relatively small era with only two canonical films. It is however, the first cycle to feature a non-canon movie and a vlog. This era stretches from October of 2016 to June of 2017. War on Terries War on Terries, releasing in October of 2016, officially began the Junior Era, however it is currently considered non-canon, though this status is often in flux. It covered the events of the war on terror and is very loosely associated with the dudes, featuring only John and Michael in a larger cast. World War I: Battles of Absolute Destruction Cops 1: The Murder of Mr. Willshaw Vlogs of the Junior Era There was only one vlog in this era, Lego Store Adventure. It is the first vlog recognized as being associated with the dudes. In this vlog, a few dudes go to a Lego store and buy some gnarly sets. It is also the most viewed vlog, with 187 views. The Senior Era The Senior Era follows a similar time frame as the last two, ranging from October of 2017 to May of 2018, and follows the dudes' senior year of high school. While this is actually the shortest cycle, lasting only 8 months, it featured the most canon videos, with 4, and the second most videos as a whole, with 7 (9 counting alternate uploads of American Revolution). The cycle saw a roller coaster of quality, but are very well liked as a whole. Causes and Effects of the Revolutionary War The Senior Era opened with a video on the American Revolution. This video is one of the favorites of the dudes, and also stands as one of the most educational. American Revolution was the first video to be shot in 4K, and also is the only video to have multiple edits available (Vietnam has two, but only one is accessible, and Fallout was planned to have two, but only one got finished). The first version, "Causes and Effects of the Revolutionary War" was published in 1080p in October of 2017. Shortly after, a second version "Eric's Project 4k" was published, with the same scenes, but in 4K quality. In April of 2018, a third version, "Causes and Effects of the Revolutionary War Extended Edition" was published. This version is also in 4K and had a minute of extra footage added which was cut from the original version. This latest extended edition is considered the definitive version. Not Blade Runner Likely the most controversial video among the dudes, Not Blade Runner ''was never finished, and despite efforts, remains unfinished to this day. Like most videos, it was a school project for Michael's science fiction class, and was going to focus on a sentient, lifelike robot going rogue, and the subsequent hunt for the robot afterwards. Much of the video focused on administering a Turing Test in detail to determine the identity of the robot. A movie has come out called ''Blade Runner that coincidentally contains a similar script. Because of scheduling conflicts, production went uncompleted and the film was published without the later hunt scenes. It was filmed in 4K, and was the first use of lighting rigs in the movies. As of this writing, there is no accessible version of Not Blade Runner because the original video got removed for a copyright strike. It is canon. Famous Battles of the Civil War American Wars of Containment Vlogs of the Senior Era * Christmas Eve Eve Vlog (December 2017)- On December 23rd, some dudes get food. * Memorial Day Vlog: Featuring the All Mighty Bazooka ''(May 2018)- A group of dudes celebrate Memorial day and use the fireworks bazooka. * ''Grenada Vlog (May 2018)- A vlog showing some behind the scenes of the American Wars of Containment movie, specifically the Grenada portion. The Age of Freedom The Age of Freedom does not fit a very standard mold which cycles previously fit, as videos and films were put out much sparser over an extended period of time. This is mainly due to the dudes having graduated high school, and then putting a larger focus on enjoying life rather than making movies. It did see a very large number of vlogs, and saw the first few films where there were truly no external parameters, such as time limits or educational purpose, which allowed for true creative freedom. A noteworthy observation to come out of this is that it is the first era with no historical films. This age is the longest by far, covering a span of June 2018 to the end of 2019. It spanned two summers and the freshman year of college for the dudes, as well as the fall semester of sophomore year. An odd note is that while it is by far the cycle with the most videos put out, with 19 (20 counting Cops 1/2 bloopers), it is tied with the Junior Era for fewest canonical videos, with 2. 5 Nights at Jacks The holder of the title "Video nobody knows about", 5 Nights is the first film in the Age of Freedom, though it is not canon. It was released in August of 2018, spliced onto the end of the Lego Store Adventure 2 vlog. This is likely the biggest reason nobody knows about this video, since people do not watch vlogs. It was meant to be a separate upload, but Michael did not feel like editing it separately since it was filmed the same day as the vlog. It is quite different, as it is a horror themed movie starring the dudes playing themselves. It was fully improvised, and saw Jack go on a PTSD induced killing spree. Cops 1/2: The Gas Crisis Cops 1/2, releasing in January of 2019, is the first canon film of the Age of Freedom, and was the first released since Containment approximately 9 months before. It is the first movie done after high school and with no restrictions, and is widely considered one of the best made. It was created as a prequel to Cops 1, since plans to produce Cops 2 the previous summer had fallen through. Home Improvement The Home Improvement series was a set of 8 episodes made over the course of the summer of 2019. It follows Michael and Jack, as well as others in some episodes, repairing and upgrading Jack's tree house. They are similar to vlogs, however are different and numerous enough to warrant their own section. Fallout: A Chip in the Bag Fallout 1 was released September of 2019, and like Not Blade Runner and Cops 2, saw a complicated production. It was originally planned to be made during the spring and summer of 2018, however issues with planning and story led to the first version being scrapped (It is now considered ''Fallout: The Lost Episode''). The current version was also in danger of not being finished, but thanks to Alejandro's dual-role acting debut, was able to be completed before summer ended. There is a second edit of Fallout 1, called "Fallout: Big Kahuna Edition" which was supposed to feature an alternate cut of the film with enhanced effects, but the project has largely died. Vlogs of the Age of Freedom This cycle contained a large number of vlogs, with 8, mostly because of the length of the cycle and the dude's desire to hang out after high school, as mentioned earlier. Vlogs begin and end the era, with Graduation vlog in June of 2018 and Christmas Eve Eve vlog 2 in December of 2019. The videos made are: * Graduation Vlog (June 2018)- Some dudes celebrate graduating high school. * 4th of July (July 2018)- Some dudes celebrate July 4th with fireworks. Clocking in at 1:14:38, this is the longest vlog by a large margin. At 27:33 you can see John get tinnitus. * Lego Store Adventure 2 (August 2018)- A large group of dudes return to the Lego Store and celebrate the end of summer before leaving for college. This video also contains 5 Nights at Jacks. * Memorial Day vlog 2019 (May 2019)- Some dudes get together to celebrate Memorial day. The video title says Jack gets blown up, but I don't know, I didn't watch it. * Lego Store Adventure 3 (August 2019)- The original cast from Lego store adventure 1 keep up the yearly tradition. * Columbus Day vlog (October 2019)- Jack and Michael hang out on Columbus day and take the stickers off Jack's car. It was actually kinda sad. I miss Kim. * Turkey Day vlog (November 2019)- Some dudes celebrate a traditional thanksgiving by going to Red Robin's and then an antique store. * Christmas Eve Eve vlog 2 (December 2019)- Jack, John, Michael, and Jesse hang out and do some holiday shopping the day before Christmas Eve. The Modern Era The Modern Era is the current production cycle, and began in January of 2020 with Cops: Noir. It marks a renewed interest in making films, as well as a new approach to planning and organization, and a variety of new techniques and tools at the dudes' disposal. It is hard to tell how the current cycle will pan out, but it will likely span until at least January 2021, covering the spring semester of sophomore year, the summer of 2020, the fall of junior year, and the following winter break. Movies planned for the cycle at the moment include; NATO Allies, World War I: Trench Warfare Remastered, Cops 2, and Fallout 2. While not all of these may be completed, a change in how the films are created will hopefully make it easier, even as the dudes' schedules get more and more busy. With an emphasis on planning, script writing, story-boarding, maximizing time, and just generally trying hard to know the details of filming ahead of time, the likelihood of movies getting completed is greater than in the past. There are talks of a second season of Home Improvement, a conclusion to Not Blade Runner, and a return to the horror genre, but these are, at the moment, all unlikely. Cops: Noir Cops: Noir is the first video of the Modern Era, and is the most technologically and stylistically advanced movie to date. The film was shot in the Noir genre, and special lighting rigs, fog machines, and camera angles were used for the first time to achieve this style. At 18:47, it is also the longest canon film, surpassing containment. Cops Noir serves as another prequel in the Cops series, taking place before Cops 1/2. It also came up in planning due to Cops 2 plans once again falling through the previous summer. This video saw a large amount of planning, in line with the Modern Era philosophy, but still wound up having many complications. These issues drove filming from one day to three, and caused a change in narration at the end of the video due to technical difficulties. Not Blade Runner was planned to be finished at the same time at Noir, however this was once again tabled so that Noir could be completed.